Sand Castle
by gaaraisawesome
Summary: Kankuro and Gaara make a sand castle, and Kankuro feels that the sand castle has made the bond between them stronger.
1. He's My Brother

*Gaara is six, Kankuro is eight. Set before Yashamaru's betrayal

Gaara sat on his bed, alone, as usual. He didn't know what to do that day. Yashamaru was very busy with something, and he just wasn't in the mood to roam the streets of Suna like he did everyday. So for that day he decided to stay inside the Kazekage's mansion. He was looking around his room, looking for something to do. The shelves were packed with stuffed toys of all sizes; they were mostly teddy bears. But he played with them during the night, since he didn't sleep. He looked around some more, and spotted the piles of boxes that kept the board games inside. Definitely not those. Who would he play with? It was only Yashamaru that played with him, and right now, he's very busy. He looked at his sand swirling on the floor just beside the bed. How could that sand entertain him? He thought and thought. Then he finally came up with an idea! He will make the best sand castle using his sand. So he got off the bed and went to the very middle of the room and started shaping the sand into a castle. Finally, after about ten minutes, he made a castle as tall as him. But he frowned, because it didn't turn out the way he wanted it to. The windows were too big, and the entrance was too small, and it was a bit lopsided. So he let the sand castle flow back to shapeless sand and began making another one.

Then he heard his door open. He expected it to be Yashamaru, because he was the only one that entered his room. He looked at his door and was surprised to see a boy with brown hair and curious black eyes, poking his head into the room. It was his brother, Kankuro. "Kankuro? What are you doing here?" Gaara asked, obviously surprised. He knew Kankuro was afraid of the monster inside of him, so what made him go to his room all of a sudden? "Well I uh, I heard this strange noise coming from your room while I was passing by. I realized it was your sand, and I just, uhm, wanted to see what was going on," Kankuro mumbled, half afraid that Gaara's sand will attack him.

"Oh."

"...So what _are_ you doing with your sand, anyway?" Kankuro asked, still half afraid.

"I'm trying to make a sand castle."

Kankuro immediately lit up when Gaara said the words 'sand castle', all traces of fear gone. He _loved_ making sand castles, and standing back to admire them after they were finished. It was second to puppets. "D-do you mind if I join you?" he asked his younger brother shyly. Now it was Gaara's turn to light up. He badly wanted to get to know and bond his siblings, and this was his opportunity to bond with one of them now. "O-Of course!" he replied. "Though I think you should use the sand outside, because my sand... it, uh..."

"Yeah, I know," Kankuro said casually. "Let's go."

The two ran to the playground, which was not far from the Kazekage's mansion. They went to the west side where the open space was. They decided to make the sand castle with ordinary sand first, then encase it with Gaara's special sand, because the normal sand and the special sand just won't go together when mixed for some reason. Pretty soon, they were done with bottom half of the castle. Kankuro found Gaara not so bad; in fact, he doesn't seem to be bad at all, unlike from the stories he'd heard. 'He acts the way a little brother acts. And it's kinda cute.' The two had conversation, too; Kankuro found himself telling stories about training and puppets and making jokes about Temari. Gaara found himself laughing and asking questions.

A group of kids on the opposite side of the playground caught Gaara's attention, and turned his head to look at them. They were the same kids that ran away from him yesterday. This made Gaara sad, and went back to concentrating on building the sand castle. But he kept glancing at them, and pretty soon, Kankuro noticed. "Err, Gaara, why do you keep looking at them?" He nodded to the direction of the group of kids. "Nothing," he answered quietly. Kankuro became confused at his little brother's sudden change of behavior, so he looked at the group of kids. They were staring and whispering and pointing to their direction. Immediately, Kankuro's temper flared up. It had only been a few hours that he spent with Gaara, and already his thoughts about him had changed. He was on Gaara's side now. Gaara wasn't a monster; the _thing _that was inside him was. That _thing_ made people _hate_ Gaara. That _thing_ makes Gaara suffer. And that group of kids was just making it worse for the little insomniac. Kankuro wanted to put some sense in them, teach them a lesson...

He abruptly stood up and began walking towards them. "W-where are you going?" Gaara asked, surprised at his brother's sudden movement. "Gonna take care of some stuff," Kankuro called over his shoulder. "I'll be right back. Just stay there." He walked until he reached the group. "What're you pointing at, huh?" he demanded. One boy answered, "We were wondering... why you would hang out with a monster?" The word 'monster' made Kankuro even angrier.

"I'm his brother. And he is _not_ a monster."

"Brother?" the others gasped. They didn't know that Gaara had a sibling. The boy that spoke up earlier smirked and said, "Heh, must be a pain being the big brother of a monster, eh? Always being followed around by the brat." The next moment, that kid was on the ground, nose bleeding. Kankuro's punch seemed to be like a reflex; he didn't remember willing his arm to do so. But still, he was sort of glad he did. Serves the punk right for bad-mouthing his little brother. "Like I said," he said through gritted teeth. "He is _not_ a monster. The next one that calls him one is gonna end up on the ground like this punk."

"B-but how come you say he's not a m – I mean, my parents say he's dangerous," a girl spoke up, her voice fading a bit, afraid that Kankuro won't hold back on her even though she was a girl. Kankuro shifted his eyes to her. "He doesn't mean to hurt anyone, okay? It's just that there's this _thing _inside of him that makes him do it, though he doesn't want it to. It's the thing _inside_ of Gaara that's a monster, not him."

"S-so there's monster inside of Gaara?"

"Yeah."

"A-and it can t-take over him at any time?"

"Yeah, but –"

"Your brother _is_ a monster! He has one in him, so that just proves that he is!" Another boy from the group shouted. He ended up on the ground with a bleeding nose, too. "Hey!" shouted the first guy he punched. "What gives you the right to just hurt us, huh!"

"'Cause you guys just insulted my brother."

"Don't waste your time defending your monster of a brother."

Kankuro was on the _verge_ of beating him half to death. Then he noticed that the rest of the guys started surrounding him, while the girls backed away and started running, terrified. "Heh, think you're so tough now, huh?" one guy taunted. "You're outnumbered." Kankuro just grinned, secretly creating invisible chakra strings from his fingertips and binding them with the guys that surrounded him. There were only seven guys, so he had three fingers to spare. Once he was sure he had the chakra strings connected to each, he started. He made two guys bump against each other, both falling to the ground. He sent one flying to his right. Two guys charged at him; he used his chakra strings to disrupt their foot movement, causing them to trip and fall face down. For the last two, he made on punch the other, causing him to fall on the ground. Then he just sent the last one standing flying to his left. He looked around at the injured kids. "Like I said. If any of you badmouth Gaara in my face again, I swear you guys are gonna get something worse than this."

He turned around and headed back to his little brother, who was frozen with pure shock, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. About halfway, he heard the seven guys run away. "Back little bro," he said casually, as if nothing had happened. Gaara just stared at him with utter shock. "Sorry you had to see that," Kankuro continued. "They were saying bad stuff about you, so I taught them a lesson." Gaara was even _more_ shocked. His brother, who he barely got to see, beat up seven guys just because they badmouthed him? He had this strange feeling in him. What was it? That word Yashamaru sometimes spoke of... Love?

He got up and hugged Kankuro, tears welling up. "T-thank you, _onii-san_!" Kankuro was confused. Why would he react in such an emotional way over all of this? Surprised too, of course. "Uh, sure Gaara. But, what're you getting all teary-eyed for?"

"No one ever made me feel like I was cared for."

Kankuro didn't expect his brother's answer to be like that, despite knowing his brother has been isolated all his life. He patted Gaara on the back, grinning. "Heh, I'm glad I'm the first, Gaara. Now, let's get back to the sand castle, 'kay?"

So the two finished the sand castle, and they were both proud of it. It wasn't big; just the size of a doll house, but it was alright with them. Gaara covered it up with his special sand, so it wouldn't crumble. "What're we gonna do with it?" he asked his older brother. Kankuro grinned at him. "Let's bring it home."

The sand castle was displayed in Gaara's room, being carried all the way to the mansion and up one of the shelves thanks to Gaara's special sand. It really was nice to see. The two brothers stood back to admire it. "I better get going, Gaara," Kankuro told him. "I bet my caretaker's worried sick about me."

"W-will I get to spend time with you again?"

Kankuro wasn't sure of what to answer. But his little brother's face was just too innocent and too cute to be given a "No". So he said, "Of course we will. I had a great time today. Though I'm just not sure when. These are just some of the days I get to sneak out from the supervision of the adults." He rolled his eyes. "Oh," was all Gaara said, disappointed. "Don't worry. I _promise_ we'll do something together again," Kankuro said, not wanting to upset him. Gaara smiled. "Arigato, nii-san. See you."

"See ya around."

Little did Kankuro know that it would be years before he got to bond with his little brother again.

He planned on inviting Gaara to make another sand castle with him. But the incident with Yashamaru happened, and he never dared to try to talk to him again.


	2. The Bond Between Us

Kankuro was muttering under his breath while walking down the hall to the storage room. Temari had assigned him into gathering and packing all of the stuff inside the storage room because they were moving out later in the afternoon, back to the Kazekage's Mansion, since Gaara was appointed as Kazekage. Kankuro complained but knew he didn't stand a chance against his sister, so he agreed to it, sulking. "Don't be such a child, Kankuro," Temari had said. "Don't be such a child, Kankuro," he repeated in a mocking tone as he opened the door to the storage room. A great amount of dust greeted him, and he coughed. "Agh! When was this room last cleaned? Never, I bet." After letting the dust settle, he went inside and took a look at the room. It was as big as a bedroom- in fact, it was one. It was a spare room in the house that the council provided when they were asked to move out of the mansion ever since their father, the Fourth Kazekage, was killed. They brought so much stuff with them that they decided that since there were four bedrooms available, and they were only three, the extra room would be turned into a storage room.

And Kankuro was glad that they'll finally be moving back to their previous home, where there were room keepers to clean the rooms for them. He sighed at how much he was going to fix and carry, and decided to start with a pile of cardboard boxes at the corner. He realized that they were the boxes they used to put all their belongings in when they moved here, and Temari had wanted to keep them for recycling purposes. Assuming she forgot about it, he proceeded to moving them outside the room to be disposed of later. Kankuro carried the third to the last box to find it heavy. Something was inside. Curious, he opened the box and took a look at the inside.

If shinobi weren't trained to suppress their emotions, Kankuro would be crying. Instead, he bit his lip and gently lifted the sand castle from the box and placed it on the floor. It looked just like it was several years ago, when it was first created, thanks to Gaara's special sand encasing it. No scratches no chipped off pieces, no cracks. Nothing. He stared at it for a while, and then smiled.

The next day, the Suna Siblings were having breakfast in the huge dining area of the mansion. "Ahh, I miss this place," Kankuro mused. "I miss the rooms, the halls, the training rooms, the food..."

"Hey!" Temari exclaimed. "Are you saying that my cooking is bad?" Kankuro just grinned at her. She rolled her eyes, and then turned her attention to Gaara. "Do you need help today, Gaara? You've just become Kazekage, and you might not be used to the work yet. Me and Kankuro will help you if you want," she offered. Kankuro didn't look too happy about it, though. Gaara thought for a while. True, he might have a hard time since it was only his second day as the Kazekage. "Sure," he agreed after thinking about it. When the three were finished, the servants took their plates. Gaara turned to the direction to his office. "I have to do something first," Temari announced. "I'll stop by your office in ten minutes, Gaara. Meanwhile, Kankuro, you help him."

"Yeah, yeah," Kankuro muttered.

The two brothers walked in silence until they reached the Kazekage's office. Then Kankuro said, "Hey Gaara, I have to get something from my room first. Don't worry, I'm not bailing out. I'll be back." Gaara nodded, and the two went separate ways. Kankuro went to his room and opened his closet, where he was hiding the box containing the sand castle. He intended for it to be a gift, so with Temari's help, wrapped it in glossy orange wrapping and attached a green ribbon and an envelope, containing a note. He walked to his brother's office, and adjusted on moving all of the weight of the present on his left hand so he can knock with his right. "Come in." He twisted the knob and let himself in. Gaara glanced up at him and his eyes landed on the item Kankuro was carrying. "What is that?" he asked. Kankuro set it down on the Kazekage's desk with a huff, mentally noting that he had to work out more. "What is it?" his brother asked again, eyes glued on the box. For a brief moment he wondered if there was any special event on that day. "Just a little something for my little brother. Think of it as... hmm. Think of it as a congratulations gift for being Kazekage." Kankuro grinned at him. Gaara got up from the chair and stood by the box. He took the stiff paper from inside the envelope that was attached to it. In Kankuro's legible handwriting, it read:

To: Gaara

Hey little brother. Congratulations on being Suna's new Kazekage! I know you're gonna be a great Kazekage, and the people will look up to you soon. I just know it. If you need any help or if you need a break, just ask help from me or Temari. Don't worry, I'm reliable. Anyways, this is something I found from the storage room back at our house. If you don't want it, you can give it back. It's alright with me. If you're wondering why I kept it all these years... well, I'm just as curious as you are. Maybe 'cause it gave me some kind of hope. Hope that, well, you'd change. And you did. Heh, I don't sound like myself in this letter, huh? Well, go ahead and open it, bro.

Fr: Kankuro

Gaara set the note down and proceeded to opening the gift. He wasn't one to just rip the covers away; he carefully peeled the tape holding the folds down on one side and took out the box. He undid the flaps and there it was, presenting itself, the crystal-like sand faintly making the sand castle seem to sparkle from the setting sun. Gaara couldn't comprehend at first, though; what was this thing? He knew it was a sand castle, but why would his brother give him one? HOW could he, when lifting a sand castle off the sand is impossible? A few silly ideas entered his mind. Was it also Giving Someone A Sand Castle Day in Suna? Was Kankuro secretly an assassin using a _Henge no Jutsu_ using the odd gift to distract him so he could attack?

Then it hit him.

He remembered his perspective of that day where he first bonded with Kankuro. He remembered Kankuro's half-curious, half-afraid expression when he checked out what was happening in his room. He remembered how Kankuro had the scary look on his face as he walked to the group of kids. He remembered watching his brother single-handedly defeat the seven guys that bad-mouthed him. He remembered bringing the castle home, then throwing it out months later. He remembered how his brother knocked on his door once a year, and the look on his face when he had threatened him to stop with his tradition. He remembered everything.

Kankuro watched closely as his brother's expression changed from shocked, to sad, to shocked again. He was half-afraid that Gaara would get mad at him for bringing back all the painful childhood memories. To his surprise, a single tear rolled down from the corner of Gaara's left eye, dropping onto the table. Kankuro was about to say something, to say he was sorry for everything, but Gaara spoke before he could.

"K-Kankuro... is this... what I think it is?"

Kankuro was unsure whether his brother was mad or not, so he thought about what to reply. He answered with a simple, "Yeah, it is."

Gaara returned to looking at the sand castle, which was still in the box. Seeing this was his opportunity to say what he wanted to say, Kankuro spoke:

"Look man, I'm _really_ sorry about everything. I'm sorry for acting like a jerk to you in the past, when I should've been acting like a big brother. I'm sorry for breaking my promise, too. Remember that? I promised you that we'd hang out again, but we didn't. I... I was so guilty after that, knowing that you wouldn't have turned out like... like how you were in the past, if Temari and I acted like how we should've: siblings. Believe me, the guilt was overwhelming. That's why I kept leaving the sand castle outside your room, because I was too much of a coward to tell you that I just wanted to be brothers again. I thought that, that the sand castle would act as a symbol, you know." Gaara's eyes further widened; Kankuro continued. "When you finally opened the door – remember? You were twelve years old when you did – for a second I was so happy. I thought you've finally gotten the message I so badly wanted to tell you. But then you... the look on your face was... well, the guilt remained. I kept it after all these years 'cause I had faith in you, man, like I said in my letter. I-I'm just really sorry for everything. I've failed as your brother and..." Kankuro trailed off, closing his eyes, gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists.

Silence fell over the two for what seemed like forever.

"Kankuro?"

Kankuro opened his eyes to find his brother staring at him, all traces of shock gone, save a little that was left in his eyes. There was also something else in there... affection?

"I'm sorry," Gaara said quietly.

"Sorry? Why are _you_ saying sor –?"

"Let me finish," the Kazekage interrupted. "I'm sorry for not accepting your efforts in the past. If I just accepted you from the beginning, then maybe things would've been a lot less... lonely. The bond between us could've been stronger. But I simply ignored you, and for that, I'm sorry." He paused, and then continued. "And thank you, Kankuro. For not giving up on me even after I've shunned everyone from my life. You didn't fail me as my brother. You never did. And for that, I am grateful."

Kankuro took time in processing his brother's words, and then he finally smiled. Unexpectedly, so unexpected that Gaara seriously considered that he was dreaming, Kankuro pulled him into a hug.

Both knew and felt that the bond between them has become stronger.


	3. Mysterious Yet Powerful

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the anime and manga series _Naruto_.

"Kankuro, this is so..."

"Fun?" his brother suggested, grinning.

"No. Childish. Ridiculous. Crazy."

"Pfft, no it's not! We're still kids at heart, ne, Gaara?"

The two were walking towards the playground, Kankuro grinning, Gaara quite frustrated. It was the day after Kankuro presented the nostalgic present to Gaara, and the Kazekage had decided to display it in his office. Kankuro felt like a big brother more than ever as he watched Gaara place it on one of the tables. Kankuro being Kankuro, had suggested to 'bring back the old times', meaning they would go to the park and make a sand castle again. Gaara initially disagreed completely, but the renewed brotherly atmosphere between them changed his mind, for some reason, making him all the more amazed at how mysterious yet powerful bonds worked. He knew he would make a fool of himself – the Kazekage, building a sand castle with his older brother? – but he knew it was all worth it. He knew it was really out of his personality to even agree to such a thing, but then again. _Bonds_. But even though he knew it was somehow alright with him, he hissed at Kankuro: "People are going to see us."

"Nah," was the only response his brother made.

The two went to the west corner of the playground like before. Kankuro kneeled down on the sand and started gathering some, forming the base. He looked up at his brother, who was staring at him, hesitating. "C'mon Gaara. S'not so bad. No one's here, anyway." Gaara looked around. True, the playground was isolated. It was the hottest time of the day, so no kid was present in the park yet. Still hesitant, he kneeled down opposite Kankuro, and started helping his brother. Eventually, Gaara forgot about his insecurities, and the two had conversation about everyone and everything.

They did not notice time pass by; they did not notice the group of villagers happening to pass by the park and see them. Their eyes widened at the sight of the Kazekage and his brother making a sand castle; something they did _never_ expected to see. Also, all of them were some of many who were terrified that the ultimate weapon of Suna had become their Kazekage, their leader. They started whispering and criticizing and commenting, some even laughing at the immature activity the two were doing. Gaara happened to glance up, and upon seeing the group, frowned and looked back at the almost-finished sand castle, and suddenly stopped in building it.

"Hm? What's wrong, Gaara?" Kankuro asked after his brother abruptly stopped.

Gaara replied with an emotionless "Nothing."

Kankuro remembered the reason why his brother suddenly changed to a troubled mood several years ago, when they had their very first quality time, so he concluded that there was a group of people nearby, making Gaara feel uncomfortable. He glanced up, looked around, and surely enough, there was the group of guys, laughing and staring. He frowned at them, not bothering to hide it. He quickly stood up and walked over to them in a fast pace. 'Déjà vu,' he thought. "Kankuro..." he heard Gaara call after him, a warning in his voice. He knew Gaara knew what he was planning. "Just stay there," Kankuro called over his shoulder.

"Excuse me," he said in a tone more mocking than polite. "It's impolite to point and stare."

"I think you very well know," replied the tallest. "You are the brother of the Kazekage, Sunagakure's ultimate weapon, am I right? How immature to be making sand castles with him!" There was a mocking edge in his voice, making Kankuro more and more annoyed.

"He should be back at the mansion before he turns into Shukaku," one of them whispered to the other. Kankuro felt like he was being mocked. Did they not know that he was a shinobi? Did they not see the Sunagakure forehead protector displayed? Did they not know how well-trained the ears of ninja are?

"Watch it, buddy!" He jabbed a finger at the direction of the one who whispered. "You think I didn't hear that? I'm a _shinobi_. Do you know how well-trained our hearing is?" The man looked shocked, not at all guilty. Before Kankuro could punch him, the first that spoke said, "Why is the Kazekage and his brother doing something so immature?" He turned to his friends and winked; they all laughed. 'One more and I'll beat them all up,' Kankuro decided.

"Don't judge us." Kankuro said through his teeth. "You don't know anything about us, or the bond between us. _So shut up_."

"Bonds?" Yet another said. "Why would a monster care about bonds? He is nothing more than an ultimate weapon."

'That's it.' Again, Kankuro's punch felt like a reflex; he didn't remember willing it to move at all. And again, he was glad that he punched the man. He said the taboo word: _monster_. Kankuro didn't concentrate on taijutsu often, but his punch definitely improved. The man's nose was bleeding at an alarming right, and his nose was a little crooked. He held it and stared daggers back at Kankuro, to which he ignored it. The other men looked at their friend, surprised, then instantly angry. They circled Kankuro with menacing looks. "Watch who you're messing with, brat," one spat at him. 'Stupid,' Kankuro thought. He didn't know if they were just bluffing and acting all tough around him, or they were really just too stupid to notice the forehead protector bearing Sunagakure's symbol, meaning that they were going against a _shinobi_ while they were just mere civilians. He attached chakra strings on the seven men- 'Déjà vu,' he thought again.

He let one fly to the right, momentarily distracting the others. Kankuro had a snap idea. He disconnected the five other strings and concentrated it all on one – the tallest who first spoke to him – and began controlling him. He made him punch the guy standing at his right, making him fall face backwards. "What the?" "I-It's not me! I'm being controlled!" Kankuro proceeded to making the poor guy beat up all his other friends, and pretty soon the guy he was controlling was the only one standing. He had a terrified expression on his face when he looked at Kankuro. The puppeteer simply grinned and winked before pulling the man's feet from under him, making him fall face flat.

He heard the crunch of sand, the kind of sound the sand makes when walked on, from behind him. It was Gaara. He turned around to see his brother with a very, very frustrated and slightly alarmed look. "What have you done?" Gaara said in an uncommon exasperated tone. "You know this will not be good on my reputation as Kazekage."

"They were bad-mouthing you, and I couldn't hold myself back."

Shock replaced the earlier emotions displayed on the Kazekage's face, and he just seemed to freeze on the spot. Kankuro smiled at his reaction, turned to the seven retreating men, and called out: "Don't bother telling the authorities!"

They looked back at him with faces more terrified than ever. All seven decided to follow the shinobi, for fear he might do something worse to them. Kankuro turned his attention back to Gaara, who still hadn't moved. He put an arm around Gaara in a brotherly way, and casually said, "C'mon, let's cover the castle with your sand then head home. Heard you got a lot of work to do today." Once again he was acting like nothing happened. Gaara simply nodded. After Gaara did his part, Kankuro lifted it and the two walked home. On their way back, Gaara turned to him and said, "Thank you. For being my brother." Kankuro felt warmth spill all over him. Finally, he was a big brother. "Anytime, man."

Few words were spoken, but both felt their bond become even _stronger_ than yesterday. 'Bonds...' Gaara thought. "They are mysterious, yet powerful."

* * *

Kankuro eyed the most recent sand castle they made, before closing the door to the Kazekage's office and followed Gaara down the hall.

"You know I'm no good in saying sorry, Gaara," Kankuro muttered, keeping his voice low, while frowning.

"Well, it's your fault. If you didn't do what you did, then you wouldn't even _be_ in this situation," the redhead replied, keeping his own voice low as well.

Kankuro couldn't argue with that. Gaara was right. If he hadn't beaten those guys up a year before, then he wouldn't be in the situation. He decided on apologizing sincerely, since the group of civilians now appreciated Gaara ever since the incident with Akatsuki. Kankuro involuntarily shivered and immediately set the thought aside. The thought of Gaara, _lifeless_… Kankuro squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated on what was currently happening.

The two brothers walked into the lobby and found the seven men sitting on the provided couches. "_Ohayo_, Kazekage-sama," they greeted in chorus.

"_Ohayo_," Gaara replied. "I've called you all here, because of my brother. Kankuro?" he looked at his older brother, signaling for him to start. With a sigh, Kankuro started to talk.

"Look, I know what I did before in the playground was wrong and irresponsible. It was just that... I got so mad at the things you said. And I... well, I couldn't hold back. So, I wanted to say... sorry, and I hope you guys forgive me." He kept his hands in his pocket and eyes on the floor the whole time. Gaara resisted the urge to smile at how serious his brother looked and spoke, not using the punk attitude.

"Kankuro-san," one of them spoke up. Kankuro looked up. "It's alright, no hard feelings, right? We too, are sorry for the things we have said. We were dead wrong about your brother. Kazekage-sama... I hope you'll forgive us for the bad things we said about you. But don't worry; we do not think of you that way anymore." Kankuro realized the man that spoke was the tallest guy, the one he punched first that day.

"I've already forgiven you all," Gaara replied. All of them smiled, and the seven proceeded to leave the mansion after shaking hands and bidding farewell.

"Well, that went better than I expected!" Kankuro exclaimed, his tense form relaxing.

"Told you that you could do it," his brother quietly responded, smiling a bit, and Kankuro couldn't help but smile as well.

"I don't think I'll ever punch anyone in this village," Kankuro commented as they made their way back to the Kazekage's office.

"And why not?" Gaara asked, curious.

"Well, every villager, every Suna shinobi respects you know. Their view of you as a frightening weapon has changed to a dependable Kazekage whom they respect. How can I punch anyone who thinks that way of my brother?"

These words made Gaara feel warm, loved, feelings that he had begun to feel only recently. Of course, shock displayed itself on his face again as well, as he was not fully used to kind words. He smiled, and Kankuro noticed. He too smiled as well, grateful that his brother was finally getting the love that he yearned so much for as a child. Grateful that he was one of the people who provided that love.

"Well," Kankuro said, as they stopped in front of the Kazekage's office door. "I gotta practice on this new technique I'm working on. See you later, Gaara." With that, he continued walking down the hall to the exit doors, and Gaara watched as his older brother left. The Kazekage had a smile on his face, feeling blessed from the bottom of his heart, to have Kankuro as a brother.

* * *

**Thank you to all who read and reviewed _Sand Castle_. :) Feel free to suggest or request new chapters or stories. Again, thank you!**


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